Wednesday, September 30. 2009

Product Description: The only authorized guide to VMware--the market-leading virtual infrastructure solution. VMware is the industry innovator in virtualization--the cutting-edge technology that makes it possible to run multiple operating systems and applications on the same computer at the same time. This hands-on guide explains how to use VMware VI 3.x.

VMware Infrastructure 3.x: The Official Guide shows you how to deploy, configure, and maintain a virtualized environment. You will get details on VMware ESX Server 3i, the next-generation thin hypervisor to be integrated in server hardware from Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, and others. The book incorporates tips, tricks, and best practices derived from VMware and it’s professional services as well as lessons learned from VMware and it’s enterprise customers.

Tuesday, September 29. 2009

While one of my readers (credits to Scoobie Guy) was exploring the features of DV switches he inadvertently discovered if you make major changes (or rebuild) your virtual center instance, or remove a host from a VC instance you may end up with the following errors:

The distributed Virtual Switch corresponding to the proxy switches d5 6e 22 50 dd f2 94 7b-a6 1f b2 c2 e6 aa 0f bf on the host does not exist in vCenter or does not contain the host.

Here is an explanation: Removing an ESX/ESXi host configured with a vDS from a vCenter Server system results in inconsistent networking state on the host. If you remove an ESX/ESXi host configured with a vDS from a vCenter Server system, the host cannot reconnect to the vDS. When you add the host back to the vCenter Server system, a warning similar to the following appears:

The distributed Virtual Switch corresponding to the proxy switches d5 6e 22 50 dd f2 94 7b-a6 1f b2 c2 e6 aa 0f bf on the host does not exist in vCenter or does not contain the host.

The virtual machines continue to function on their respective ports, but new virtual machines are not allowed to power on. You cannot modify the vDS settings for this host by using a vSphere Client connected to the vCenter Server system.

Workaround: Perform the following steps:

Use a vSphere Client to connect directly to the ESX/ESXi host. This workaround requires a direct connection.

Migrate the virtual machines off of the invalid vDS ports one by one by editing the settings of each virtual machine. This will result in prolonged network interruption to the virtual machines.

In a vSphere Client connected to the vCenter Server system, refresh the network settings of the host. The errors are cleared.

Add the host back to the vDS, either manually or by using a host profile.

Migrate the virtual machines back to their respective ports or portgroups on the vDS. To do so, right-click the vDS and choose Migrate Virtual Machine Networking. This process also results in network interruption to the virtual machines.

Now the fun / trouble really starts! Rebuilding your network!

Another thing to note, if you miss configure a DvSwitch you may lose all connectivity to your ESX hosts. Examples are the MTU settings change from 1500 to 9000, if your NICs or Switch don’t support it then you will lose connectivity. My recommendation is to keep at least one service console port on a standard virtual switch. That way you can always reach your hosts, and worse case if you need to rebuild your service console network it’s much easier.

I’m delivering an instructor led VMware Sales Professional 4 training. You can still sign up for next Friday. If you’re a VMware Partner, you should check if your company has completed all of the requirements necessary to remain at the Professional level in the VMware Partner Network.

Monday, September 28. 2009

This afternoon one of my students pointed me to the website of Data Robotics. They are offering the DroboPro which is a really cool, intelligent, but most of all cheap iSCSI server offering 8 disk bays.Don’t confuse the DroboPro with a sad scene from Dumbo. DroboPro has been certified for use with VMware and is the first business class storage array that manages itself. Engineered to be both simple and scalable.

Grow your storage in line with your data capacity needs with minimal effort. To add capacity, simply insert a new hard disk or replace your smallest disk with a larger one, even when all eight-disk bays are full. Unlike traditional RAID systems, the BeyondRAID technology found in DroboPro enables you to mix n’ match capacities, disk brands and speeds. This allows for continuous expansion as disk capacities grow. With DroboPro expansion is automatic, instantaneous and access to data is always maintained.

If you’re looking for 8 TB of iSCSI storage for under for under € 2000 ? -> Drobo Pro 8 TB

VMware community member and fellow VCI, David O'Connor (w1nter -> you can follow this guy on Twitter now) is working on some great study resources for the VMware Enterprise exam, he just uploaded another part of the VCDX Study Guide.

Saturday, September 26. 2009

You really should check out the new VMware vSphere Blog, it’s a central place for news, commentary, links to new resources and other information about VMware vSphere. I’ve seen some great articles popping up in the last two weeks.

The first round of the contest which features articles about Fault Tolerance is closed now. The next round “vNetwork Distributed Switch” will kick off next Monday. I just can’t wait for another round of great vNetwork articles in the coming two weeks. If you want to join the contest, don’t be shy and give John Troyer a heads up about your website.

Right after the VMworld ‘John Troyer- VMware Communities Outreach’ has printed the official vEXPERT certificates and send them out by snail mail. Around 300 people around the world should have received their certificate by now. With this vEXPERT certificate VMware would like to thank me for all the work I’ve done giving back to the virtualization community and sharing my expertise with others. VMware is giving this award to individuals who have contributed significantly to the community of VMware users over the past year.

If you’re a VMware Partner, you should check if your company has completed all of the requirements necessary to remain at the Professional level in the VMware Partner Network.

Recently VMware introduced new benefits to best support your organization with a go-to market business model that is right for you. As a Professional partner in the Solution Provider program, your organization has access to sales & marketing tools, education through Partner University, presence on Partner Locator, not-for-resale licenses, select internal use licenses, and much more in order to best support your VMware business needs.

In the coming weeks I’ll deliver a series of VMware Sales Professional (VSP) and VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP) boot camps. This gives you the change to get completely certified in just three days. If you’re interested you know how to reach me.

Ben Vierck over at Devfarm software has put together a list of what people liked most from their PowerWF VMworld presentation. The list also contains the links to corresponding YouTube screen cast videos.

To get things started ... There were 3 features that the people at VMWorld seemed to key in on when I ran the demo. 1) The built in PowerShell/PowerCLI interpreter, 2) using PowerWF to redirect data from PowerShell scripts into Perfmon and SCOM, and 3) using PowerWF to create plugins (activity packs) for PowerWF. Below are some videos showing those 3 things.

Thursday, September 24. 2009

This intensive, extended-hours training course focuses on installing, configuring, managing, and troubleshooting VMware vSphere. It combines the content of the VMware vSphere 4: Install, Configure, Manage course with advanced tasks and skills for configuring a highly available and scalable virtual infrastructure. Upon completing this course, you can take the examination to qualify as a VMware Certified Professional.

This hands-on training course equips system administrators with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve competence in building and running a highly available VMware vSphere 4 virtual infrastructure. At the end of the course, you should be able to understand the functionality in vSphere and be able to:

List the components of business continuity

Describe Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 cluster configurations

Configure a VMware High Availability (HA) cluster using nondefault options

VMware is pleased to announce the availability of the Design Exam. You can take the exam at Pearson VUE Professional Centers worldwide. Only individuals who have successfully passed the Enterprise Administration Exam and have been authorized by VMware will be able to register to take this exam.

Tuesday, September 22. 2009

After four successful meetings in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, the Dutch VMware User Group announced it’s time for a fifth one! Viktor would like to invite you to attend the 2009 VMware User Group Event on the 11th of December at the Nieuwegein business centre. With over 3200 members this year’s event will become massive. Join the Dutch VMUG and learn best the practices and optimal use of VMware products, get answers, advice, tips, and suggestions from experts, discover new ideas and gain insight about Virtual Infrastructure, receive special information about new VMware products, network with other technical professionals and be part of the leading edge of VMware users.